The father of T Buckets

[tfeverfred]

I was bored yesturday and made a run to the book store, looking for something to read and found this.

Yea, the $12.95 price was a thought, but the articles about the Kookie clone T Bucket were oh so worth it! Von Franco did a really good job getting her right, but in my pinion the Lightning Bug clone looks even better. She's black with a blood red interior. I've been looking at that photo for a loooooong time. It sure is driving me to paint mine black and do the same color interior. Also, the interior is so simple and basic. Looks like the side panels just screw on. There's not a lot of padding in the seat pads or side panels that you usually see in a bucket. It's really like how I want to do mine. Clean and simple. I love the look of the late '50s, early '60s T Buckets.

If you have $12.95 burning a hole in your pocket, you might want to give it a look.

 

[tfeverfred]

Here's the Lightning Bug on the alternate cover and a build shot as well as her just sitting looking pretty.

Gee, those rims sure do look pretty! LOL

 

[thomas]

Fred, I just purchased that same book yesterday. I also have been looking at that "Lightnin' bug". What a great look.

thomas

 

[Mike]

Fred, when I first saw the images of your rolling chassis, my first thought was how your car is crying out to be painted black, with a red interior.

The Bug is a classic, no question about it.

 

[thomas]

My wife was looking through the book and told me she would like me to build my bucket like the lightnin' bug. So what do think Fred, Rick and Mike.

thomas

 

[tfeverfred]

My wife was looking through the book and told me she would like me to build my bucket like the lightnin' bug. So what do think Fred, Rick and Mike.

thomas

There's no doubt that it is a nice, clean, simple look. That's why I like it so much. I've had a thing for that '50s look for a long time. I'm just going to upgrade it a little. That's why I have black steelies and baby moons on the rear. They look plain, but are actually made wider to get a more modern profile. I'm going with a simple SBC and very limited chrome (valve covers and air cleaner). A nice simple vinyl interior. Just plain and simple. It's also cheaper.:lol:

I call it "new traditional" or Nuevo Retro. By tradition, I mean the tradition of not having a lot of money!

 

[thomas]

Coker tires and wheels make a nice solid wheel with baby moons. Rear 15x14 and fronts 15x5. All I need to do is find someone who makes a 31x18.5x15 in a white wall.

thomas

 

[tfeverfred]

Coker tires and wheels make a nice solid wheel with baby moons. Rear 15x14 and fronts 15x5. All I need to do is find someone who makes a 31x18.5x15 in a white wall.

thomas

Coker makes the size front runner tires you would want, but those steam rollers in the rear are going to be hard to find in whitewalls. I'll play around and search. It'll be fun.

 

[Nailbomb]

wow, you know i've heard it said that the larger the difference between the front and rear tires the better looking the T, but you guys are all serious about having some thick meats on the back end. can't be cheap, but god bless you guys.

 

[tfeverfred]

Nailbomb, what I have noticed is that I usually saw the steamrollers on the buckets that were running a fairly conventional size tire in the front. The width of the front axle combined with the width of the tires makes for quite a track. The rear tires being wide is done to make the rear track in proportion to the front.

On my setup, the outside width of the front track is dead on to the outside width of my rear tires. I had my setback on the rear wheels made so it would come out like I planned. I was lucky and got it right. No refund on custom wheels.

Checking the setback of your rims and tires is very important on these little cars. I saw a pic of a T that had the front setup wider than the rear and it looked really hokey. Also, checking the setback for the rear tires is important to make sure the tires won't rub the body. I'll end up with about 2" clearance on both sides of my body. Nice and snug like I wanted.

Now, if I ever decide to go with a convention (5" wide front wheel), I'll need wider rims and tires in the back to make the track look right and in proportion. Having said that, I have gotten to like the look of my front wires so much that if I had to, I'd just go with 12 spoke Radirs. Those 3" tires in front just look crazy bad a**!:lol:

And yea, those fat meats and rims are some high dollar stuff. About twice as much as I have invested in my setup.

 

[Rick]

Don't forget the Crazy Bad A## Wire Wheels.

 

[tfeverfred]

Don't forget the Crazy Bad A## Wire Wheels.

Yup. At over $400 each they're nothing to sneeze at. I'm glad I got mine used. $300 for both and $125 to powder coat. Not bad, but still high.

If you think those are high, check out a set of Daytons! Makes me wonder where guys get the money for them and they don't even look good, in my opinion.

In my opinion, the best looking wheel ever made, for the money, was the Crager 5 spoke SS. Those things say muscle car/hot rod very loud and clear.

 

[Nailbomb]

Its a classic design, and can come off great, but they're everywhere, same with torque thrust 2's

I'm pretty solid on going for a gasser look with some vintage looking blackwalls.

 

[tfeverfred]

My wife was looking through the book and told me she would like me to build my bucket like the lightnin' bug. So what do think Fred, Rick and Mike.

thomas

Hey, Thomas, I found a way cool video to keep your wife motivated in building y'alls bucket!

Notice how it wasn't affraid to flex those tires! I'm sure I won't be doing this with wires in the front, but this at least shows the suspension can handle a little rough treatment!

 

[thomas]

Great stuff Fred

Thank you

thomas

 

[Rick]

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rods

 

[tfeverfred]

Its a classic design, and can come off great, but they're everywhere, same with torque thrust 2's

I'm pretty solid on going for a gasser look with some vintage looking blackwalls.

Hey, Nailbomb, check these babies out! I got the new SoCal catalog today and these rims looked like something you might like. They start at $398 each for the bolt on, but ain't they neat!? The knock off kit is $900 and seems a bit much. Check out their website for more info.

 

[Big_John]

The real shame of that car is its sitting in a garage in Dayton, Ohio today looking like this.

From what I have read, the guy that bought it from Norm in 1959 (and did this to it) still owns the car. It may be restored some day, he wants to restore it to this version.

 

[tfeverfred]

I still love it in this form.

Hey, Thomas, have you decided on a body color yet or did I miss your post about it?